Abstract :
To this day, there is increasing evidence that epilepsy and its medications can have harmful effects on bone mineralization. The purpose of the current study is to evaluate whether carbamazepine and levetiracetam as monotherapy are associated with vitamin D deficiency and calcium deficiency among epilepsy patients. A case series study with serum calcium and vitamin D tests was conducted on 97 participants, 67 of them were patients with epilepsy, while 30 were control groups. Epilepsy patients had been receiving antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) for at least six months, and they were separated into 2 groups CAR group, patients receiving carbamazepine (31), and LEV group patients receiving levetiracetam (36). Calcium and vitamin D concentrations in serum were measured and compared in both groups at the start of taking epilepsy medication and after 3 months of it. The results showed a significant deficiency of calcium and vitamin D in epilepsy patients who were treated with CAR for more than 3 months when compared with the start of taking it. Therefore, the vitamin D and calcium status of patients taking CAR should be monitored regularly, and vitamin D and calcium supplementation should be considered on an individual basis.
